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Inquirer, PDI Fires Pugad Baboy Comic Strip

Thursday, June 06, 2013

The local newspaper, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) had fired Pol Medina, Jr., the man behind the comic strip - Pugad Baboy over a below-the-belt message on his recent comic strip.
It looks like offensive jokes are currently on season nowadays recalling the Vice Ganda's rape joke on reporter Jessica Soho which was also highly criticized. Now we have a comic strip that apparently went low blow again.

The comic strip of Pugad Baboy on June 4 had said to offended the Christian community, specifically the St. Scholastica College in Manila, an all-girls Catholic school.

Here is the copy of the controversial comic strip.

The comic strip had created an issue after it became a trending topic on microblogging platform, twitter.

With this, the Philippine Daily Inquirer had said to pull out the said comic strip on its online publication starting June 5, 2013 (10 p.m.) and on its printed issues starting June 7, 2013 until investigation is underway.

With this, the cartoonist himself had made a public complain through his facebook page. Medina said that the controversial strip that got him fired was first appeared last March 13 of this year and no reactions were received then.

"If you zoom in on that particular strip that got me fired, you'll see that the strip first appeared in March. No reaction then," - Medina said.

"It was reissued after I made a series of of anti-Marcos strips, then BOOM! Nag-trending sa Twitter. Interesting. I smell a consPIGracy," - the cartoonist added.

My thoughts?

It looks like this joke got a lower blow than Vice Ganda's joke because Vice Ganda's apology was accepted immediately while this one got fired.

The issue is not whether Pugad Baboy was right or wrong. Issue now is its creator is being punished for expressing a view, right or wrong. - twitter user @carloshconde said.

It's anybody's right to complain about Pugad Baboy, but it's also our right to complain if they cancel it. We just have to be LOUDER. - twitter user @komikero said.

I think Pol Medina Jr. would have gotten away with a joke like that had he not mention a school. I’ve been a fan of Pugad Baboy ever since but I don’t think it’s right that he singled out St. Scho like that. A bit of an exaggeration for PDI to pull out Pugad Baboy. An apology would have sufficed. Just my 2-cents. - iamjammed user Nix Sayo said.

"PDI decided to fire Pol Medina Jr. and end the Pugad Baboy series. This makes me really upset. A consPIGracy indeed," - comedian and musician Gabe Mercado said on his facebook account.

Karla Vizcarra, an alumna of St. Scholastica's College told that Medina has her "complete and unfailing support."

"Might be good to add that I am also a Christian. But, no contest here. Pugad Baboy comics over cowardly newspapers and editors anytime," - Vizcarra.